tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019Fri, 09 Dec 2016 03:42:12 +0000It's all about KatieadoptionpregnancyTo market to marketPhDreamsNursingLove ThursdayOur MThis is a FamilyJOL workshopNew Horizons for ChildrenThe North Wind Doth Blowme and three52 weeksdairy freerecipefundraiserpark photosOne to get readyadventJorgegdiapersnablopomodiapersgluten freerunningAnd They Never Slept AgainEmerging from the laundry swamps and Lego wastelands to keep track of our own insanity. http://robandjulie.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Julie)Blogger1883125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-5113808883263274845Fri, 09 Dec 2016 03:42:00 +00002016-12-08T22:42:12.046-05:00A few quick reality checks:
1. Falling down in a hard belly-flop while ice-skating at age 39 is a bad idea. For a few days after the fall, I was darn near certain I'd broken a rib or two and even went to the MD (Julie does not like going to the doctor) and got xrays, but all seems on the mend now, so I guess just a bumped myself up a bit.
2. I lit my hair on fire tonight attempting to stop andhttp://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/12/a-few-quick-reality-checks-1.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-8379086748360179458Thu, 01 Dec 2016 06:06:00 +00002016-12-01T09:09:08.280-05:00Math geekout ahead.August adores math. He's an all-around nerd, but just blows us away in math. Remember, he's six and only in the first half of first grade.
Tonight, as we were getting ready for bed, we got on the topic of square roots (as one does) and those are his favorite things for now. Knowing how much he loves them, and how his current favorite thing is to figure out some really big ones (like 3600) by http://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/12/math-geekout-ahead.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-7662300097050124240Tue, 29 Nov 2016 16:39:00 +00002016-11-29T11:39:03.816-05:00adventHope: TuesdayHope, Day 2
Think about a time you hoped for something and started to think it was impossible. Did it help to talk to someone? Did it help to have someone tell you to keep trying, or keep believing, or that they thought it would work out, too?
Today, think of someone you know that might not have much hope right now. Maybe they are having trouble with school, or having a hard time with another http://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/11/hope-tuesday.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-2675194997131251689Tue, 29 Nov 2016 04:42:00 +00002016-11-28T23:42:42.127-05:00adventAdvent: Week 1 HOPEThe first week of Advent is focused on hope. We use this word so casually in our everyday conversations, almost interchangeably with wish, want, think, assume...but hope is something specific."Hope” is the desire for something that is hard to get, but believing that it will happen someday. We have hope that love will stay strong, that we will live a good life, that people will know they are lovedhttp://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/11/advent-week-1-hope.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-3718387270126255582Tue, 29 Nov 2016 04:26:00 +00002016-11-28T23:26:50.656-05:00Every single shower-night (which is only about 2x a week because OMG who has time for nightly kid showers? Who? Nope.)
Anyhow, every single time it goes like this after a few casual reminders during the afternoon that there will be showers this evening.:
Parent at the end of dinner: Ok, kid showers tonight.
Boy-children: Nooooo! no! Noooooo! I don't want to! It will just take so long! I http://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/11/every-single-shower-night-which-is-only.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-2471520970878347544Tue, 29 Nov 2016 04:20:00 +00002016-11-28T23:41:05.233-05:00adventAdvent: HopeThe first week of Advent is focused on hope. We use this word so casually in our everyday conversations, almost interchangeably with wish, want, think, assume...but hope is something specific.
"Hope” is the desire for something that is hard to get, but believing that it will happen someday.
We have hope that love will stay strong, that we will live a good life, that people will know they are http://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/11/advent-hope.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-8680952853727565134Thu, 27 Oct 2016 04:02:00 +00002016-10-27T00:02:36.286-04:00No updatesWe're just in stasis here...
Auggie's eye thing happens in a few more week. We generally forget where his (4 pair?) of glasses are at any time so we're pretty bad about patching his good eye.
No tenure updates; teaching 7 sections means 10 lectures per week plus 3 office hours and exhausted. Also appealing tenure, on the job market, and doing 2 new research projects. Nearly all of this falls http://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/10/no-updates.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-6158558770420940309Wed, 14 Sep 2016 22:38:00 +00002016-09-14T18:38:09.248-04:00Broken inHow you react when the doctor says:
Your child's vision is really bad; I want to explore doing surgery on his eyeball to correct the muscles.
Hypothetical first child: oooooh, my sweet baby! Oh, how can this be!? I want a second opinion. I want a vigil held. Oh, why? Why????????
Actual fourth child.: *sigh*. Ok, let's see when we can schedule it.
http://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/09/broken-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-9198242548170048495Wed, 14 Sep 2016 12:43:00 +00002016-09-14T08:45:41.098-04:00School Year
All four kids have officially been in school for a week. Life at home is starting to look a little bit less like a war zone, although homework and projects are creating a stresser for the girls.
Maryna is, of course, in high school which is the most homework of any part of school, I think. More than they get in college in my experience (though all the teachers insist that it's just http://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/09/school-year.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-3635460286363164429Wed, 07 Sep 2016 16:36:00 +00002016-09-07T12:36:54.478-04:003 out of 4 children started school today: Hooray!http://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/09/3-out-of-4-children-started-school.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-3779203116497808406Thu, 01 Sep 2016 02:36:00 +00002016-08-31T22:48:23.511-04:00Because this is what normal looks like here...Slept terribly Monday-into-Tuesday night, then taught all day Tuesday and was nearly asleep at the dinner table. And yet, when it came time for bed, I couldn't fall asleep until 3:30 AM (did some laundry at 2 AM out of boredom).
I woke up when August came in with a morning nightmare at 6:15 and proceeded to play "Auggie the human back-pack". Then had Jorge come in three times in the 7 o'clockhttp://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/08/because-this-is-what-normal-looks-like.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-5795507059214726066Mon, 29 Aug 2016 23:21:00 +00002016-08-29T19:21:20.402-04:00Back to normal, bit by bit
The foot is healed enough to not freak out anyone, so a pedicure happened today. So did a manicure and a hair cut.
School starts back up tomorrow for me. Rob started his class last week. The kids start next week: Tuesday (boys), Wednesday (Katie) and Thursday (Maryna). Eventually this circus will be corralled back to the routine in which we aren't all ready to duct tape each other's mouthshttp://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/08/back-to-normal-bit-by-bit.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-1698519683202816896Thu, 25 Aug 2016 01:58:00 +00002016-08-24T21:58:52.831-04:00Pain and sufferingOk, I'll admit that might be a bit dramatic.
Things here have been a little off for a while.
My neck and shoulder have been a source of nearly constant pain. I saw two massage therapists in a week last winter and then a chiropractor for several months. Overall diagnosis was that my muscles in my left shoulder were super tight for some reason and were pulling my spine to the left. My spine http://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/08/pain-and-suffering.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-3672274469768963471Wed, 24 Aug 2016 02:55:00 +00002016-08-23T22:55:27.709-04:00To Auggie, on turning six.My darling Auggie,
Never have I known a child so completely soaked, drenched, and dripping with love. You simply must tell me twenty times each day that you love me. You snuggle into bed with me and daddy every morning (sometimes at a respectable 6 or 7, often at a painful 3 or 4) and roll like a magnet to be attached to one of us. You rub our backs or hair, comment on how wonderful we are, http://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/08/to-auggie-on-turning-six.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-730085548143962191Mon, 13 Jun 2016 21:07:00 +00002016-06-13T17:07:26.552-04:00mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Random OMG cookies. August I just made this up and they're SO GOOD.
1 cup peanut butter1 cup brown sugar1 egg1 tsp baking powder
Mix those up. Then add:1 tsp vanilla1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts1/4 cup chopped pecansa few Tablespoons of hershey syrup
Bake at 350 for about 11 minutes. Chewy chocolately nutty YUMMMMMMMM..
http://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/06/mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-6567909239988885276Fri, 10 Jun 2016 14:14:00 +00002016-06-10T10:15:34.551-04:00Dear Katie, on turning 11
Sweetest Katie May,
Can I indulge yet again in some mopey-mommy feelings about how fast this has gone? The mixture of pictures here is exactly how I see you. The same sweet girl-- always quiet and thoughtful, happy and excited, observant, supportive, encouraging, brave, and persistent--but just a blur of ages. You are all of these at once, from a sacked out baby in my arms to a http://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/06/dear-katie-on-turning-11.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-9012710735634432339Mon, 06 Jun 2016 20:13:00 +00002016-06-06T16:17:05.001-04:00Graduate!
Auggie started school about 15 minutes ago, and yet he graduated last weekend.
Being our 3rd round of this, we were prepared for the tear-filled slideshow with pictures showing him from a fluffy-headed three year old to a still fluffy-headed five year old.
He has been a challenging student to these two wonderful teachers. He marches to his own drum and occasionally also sings along. He's http://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/06/graduate.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-4265419325921495306Thu, 02 Jun 2016 21:42:00 +00002016-06-06T12:08:35.141-04:00No tenureSo..... it was a no.
No tenure. No pay raise. No stability. And no job after May 14, 2017.
I'm looking into the appeal process and some quiet conversations are also happening between key leaders. In the meantime, I got a huge publication success: my work with two friends was published in the top journal in our field. The PR team in my school drafted up a summary document and sent it out tohttp://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/06/no-tenure.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-2955032663767461820Wed, 11 May 2016 16:11:00 +00002016-05-11T12:11:27.595-04:00This thing called tenure...
Coping with anxiety: A week in the life of an assistant professor up for tenure this week.
Day 1: exercise. Completely exhausted myself and slept like a rock for 13 hours.Day 2: eating all the sweet things in a 1 mile radius, feeling queasy.Day 3: SHOPPING. I can't stop loading up Amazon carts. Not buying most of them, but just anxiously hunter-gather hoarding.
Anxiety is strange.
I http://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/05/this-thing-called-tenure.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-4943725128389468203Tue, 03 May 2016 14:00:00 +00002016-05-03T10:00:24.727-04:00August this morning at 6:28AM: Do you know my three favorite numbers? 7, 2000, and 5. Seven, becuase that's what time I get to wake up and have breakfast. 2000 becuase that's the highest number that I know I can count to, and five, because right now I'm five and I think it's magical.http://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/05/august-this-morning-at-628am-do-you.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-5633634484519460929Sat, 19 Mar 2016 01:46:00 +00002016-03-18T21:54:10.560-04:00Here's the truth, because why not?
I struggle with depression. I've dealt with this in long and short stretches for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest clear memories of calling it depression was in college, but at the time I remember recognizing it with the knowing assurance of "oh, yes, I know what this is and have been here before." I can identify a very dark time in late ninth http://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/03/heres-truth-because-why-not-i-struggle.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-6069987685407276560Mon, 14 Mar 2016 15:42:00 +00002016-03-14T11:43:45.701-04:002 year anniversaryLast month we celebrated Maryna's 2 year anniversary from when we proposed adoption.
Adoption is a lot like marriage -- it's a legal contract which takes otherwise unrelated people and makes them a family. It takes work, compromise, learning, patience, and committment. Some days it feels like a mess; most days if feels like the most natural thing in the world.
I'm so glad she trustedhttp://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/03/2-year-anniversary.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-3057921089154067618Mon, 14 Mar 2016 15:15:00 +00002016-03-14T11:48:35.603-04:00Sun and Sand
We took a much needed vacation in February to Luquillo Beach, Puerto Rico.
Sun, sand, surf, silly, sleep.
(More pictures in the full post after the break)
http://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/03/sun-and-sand.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-8928414807825368856Mon, 07 Mar 2016 19:21:00 +00002016-03-07T14:21:20.843-05:00A much needed haircuthttp://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/03/a-much-needed-haircut.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10582019.post-9086952957736099073Tue, 09 Feb 2016 04:38:00 +00002016-02-09T14:34:16.001-05:00Dear Jorge....the other letterDear Jorge,
I've been dreading this conversation. I knew we'd have to have it and it was becoming more clear every week. When I snip at you for wearing baggy sweatpants out of the house, for walking around in ripped up shoes and dirty clothes, when I remind you so often to take off your hoodie's hood that I just give up and put all the hoodies in the attic rather than let you wear them. It http://robandjulie.blogspot.com/2016/02/dear-jorgethe-other-letter.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie)2